Fatty fish acts as a preventative measure for developing carcinomas.

A study, published in the Journal Nutrition and Cancerm led by Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute has demonstrated that consuming that right kind of fish, in the right quantity, prepared in a certain way, can in fact help prevent adenocarcinomas, a common type of cancerous tumor.

The impact of the fatty fish is attributed to its ability to modestly decrease the activity of cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2), an enzyme which contributes importantly to the genesis and progression of adenocarcinomas.

“An easy way to see the benefit of omega-3 is to look at Italy,” Dr. DiNicolantonio said. “The staple oil used in cooking and as a salad dressing in Italy is olive oil, which is quite low in omega-6. Meanwhile, fish — high in omega-3 — is a staple food in the Italian diet, and this fish is rarely salt-preserved or fried. In Italians studies, subjects who consumed fish at least twice weekly as compared to those who ate fish less than once a week, were found to be at a significantly lower risk for a number of cancers, including ovarian, endometrial, pharyngeal, esophageal, gastric, colonic, rectal, and pancreatic.”

Previous studies have demonstrated a conclusive link between total omega-3 intake, from both fish and supplements, and determined that a high omega-3 intake was associated with a 23 percent reduction in total cancer mortality.